Department of Geography and Planning

Education

Ph.D., Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2015

M.A., Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2011

B.S., Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008

Research

My current research focuses on spatiotemporal patterns of health and how these patterns relate to environmental, socioeconomic, and climatic determinants. Using this perspective, my research provides insights into the etiology of environmental health diseases, highlighting both overburdened populations and the environmental conditions that lead to adverse health outcomes.

• Receipt of the NSF CAREER Award, the highest honor given to early-career faculty from the National Science Foundation
• Receipt of the Emerging Scholar Award from the Health and Medical Specialty Group, American Association of Geographers
• Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award, Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies, Appalachian State University  
• Provost Award, Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity, Appalachian State University 
• Receipt of the Environmental Protection Agency's STAR Fellowship in Public Health
• Recipient of external funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Gulf Research Program, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Public Health AmeriCorps, Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
• Dr. Sugg has authored or co-authored over 95 publications in various disciplines including public health, spatial epidemiology, geography, and climate science.

Click here to view my CV.

Click here to view my personal webpage.

Click here to view publications on my Google Scholar profile.

Public Media Outreach

Dr. Maggie Sugg Receives NSF’s Most Prestigious Award in Support of Early-Career Faculty

Dr. Maggie Sugg Discusses Adaptability to Extreme Heat (The Atlantic)

Dr. Maggie Sugg Interviewed About Local Perceptions of Heat (FiveThirtyEight)

Dr. Maggie Sugg Interviewed About COVID-19 Seasonality (The Scientist)

Recent Master Theses Supervised

Caroline Fehlman, Master's Thesis, Department of Geography and Planning, Maternal Healthcare Access Disparities in North Carolina, 2016-2019: A Fine-Scale Geospatial Analysis (2025)

Sarah Ulrich, Master's Thesis, Department of Geography and Planning, A Matched Analysis of Maternal Outcomes and Heatwaves (2024) 

Kristen Lynse, Master's Thesis, Department of Geography and Planning, A Spatial Analytic Approach to Maternal Health and Birth Outcomes Following Hurricane Florence (2018) (2024)

Sophie Ryan, Master's Thesis, Department of Geography and Planning, Greenspace and Adolescent Mental Health: Understanding Greenspace Metrics and Socio-Demographic Effect Modifiers (2023)

Taylin Spurlock, Master's Thesis, Department of Geography and Planning, Examining Hurricane Exposure on Neonatal Outcomes in North Carolina: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study (2023)

Luke Wertis, Master's Thesis, Department of Geography and Planning, Socio-Environmental Determinants of Mental and Behavioral Disorders in Youth: A Machine Learning Approach (2023)

Tyler Minor, Master’s Thesis, Department of Geography and Planning, Examining the Mental health and temperature connection in North Carolina (2022)

Leah Hart Handwerger - An Assessment of Social and Physical Vulnerability to Hydroclimate Extremes in Appalachia (2021)

Camila Moreno - Examining Spatiotemporal Trends of Drought in the United States Using Self-Organizing Maps (2021)

Stella Harden - The Impact Of Environmental And Social Characteristics On Severe Maternal Morbidity: A Spatiotemporal Analysis In South Carolina (2020)

Elizabeth Bailey - Wearable Sensors For Personal Temperature Exposure Assessments: A Comparative Study (2019)

Matthew Wilson - External Validation Of Vulnerability Indices: A Case Study Of The Multivariate Nursing Home Vulnerability Index (2019)

Lauren Andersen - An Assessment Of Wildfire Vulnerability In Western North Carolina, USA Following The 2016 Wildfires (2018)

Laura Thompson - Adolescents In Crisis: A Geographic Exploration Of Help-Seeking Behavior Using Data From Crisis Text Line (2018)

Garry Raynor - Geographic Variations Of Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratories In North Carolina (2017)

Anna Ross - Recreational Heat-Related Illness: Heat Exposure Outside The Work Week (2016)